Sprinklers



S. IZCHAKI June 7, 1955 SPRINKLERS Filed Feb. 26, 1953 IN VEN TOR.

SPRINKLERS Shimon Izchaki, Naan, Israel Application February 26, 1953,Serial No. 339,057 Claims priority, application Israel November 30, 19527 Claims. (Cl. 299-69) This invention relates to sprinklers of the kindin which a pair of nozzles is stepwise shifted about a vertical axisowing to the action of a lever which includes a baffle on which the jetof one of the nozzles impinges in a certain angular position of thelever.

In hitherto usual sprinklers of this kind the lever swings about avertical axis. The baffle at the head end of the lever is normallylocated in front of one of the nozzles, and as the jet impinges on thehead the lever is pushed sidewards and tensions a spring which, with asudden motion, urges the lever back into its starting position. Inarriving there the lever strikes an abutment and thereby shifts thenozzle a step farther about a vertical axis. This arrangement has thedrawback that it requires springs whose tension is apt to diminish intime so that the sprinkler ceases to function satisfactorily.

In another known arrangement the lever swings about a horizontal axis.It has at its head end a baflle designed laterally to deflect the jetimpinging thereon whereby a reaction is generated which shifts thenozzle about a vertical axis while the head end of the lever swingsdownwards. The opposite or tail end of the lever is weighted so that thelever is made to return into its original position after each suchstroke. This arrangement has the advantage that springs are notrequired. On the other hand, the weight exerts its momentumindependently of the pressure of the water producing the jet thatimpinges on the lever head. When the pressure drops considerably, thejet is apt to become too weak to swing the lever head down at all, inwhich case the sprinkler ceases to operate. Moreover, the sprinkler hasto be mounted strictly plumb in order to ensure proper functioning, andthis condition is not always readily fulfilled.

The aforesaid drawbacks are overcome by the present invention whichconsists in a sprinkler of the kind referred to, comprising a nozzleunit with at least two nozzles; an oscillating lever; a bafile plate atthe head end of the lever so designed that the jet emerging from one ofthe nozzles makes the head end of the lever swing away from that nozzleand is at the same time laterally deflected and exerts a reaction forceon the head designed to shift the nozzle unit stepwise about a verticalaxis; and a baffle at the tail end of the lever so designed that whenthe head end of the lever has swung away from the coordinated nozzle thetail battle is located in front of the second nozzle and the jetemerging from the latter exerts on the tail baflie a momentum calculatedto return the lever into its original position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the lever oscillates about ahorizontal axis and the tail bafile of the lever is so designed that thejet impinging thereon makes the tail end of the lever swing downwards.

As contrasted to the aforesaid known sprinklers in which the bafflelever oscillates about a horizontal axis, the operation of thesprinklers according to the invention is virtually independent ofvariations of the water States Patent M 2,710,226 Patented June 7, 1955Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the head bafile of the lever on lineIIIIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-section thereof on line IVIV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the tail baffie of the lever on lineV-V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section thereof on line VIVI of Fig. 2.

On a vertical pipe connection 1 made integral with a cap nut 2 adaptedto be screwed on the upper end of a rising water feed pipe (not shown),a nozzle unit is mounted so as to be rotatable about a vertical axiscoinciding with the axis of the pipe connection 1. The nozzle unitincludes an arm 3 carrying at its end nozzle 4, and diametricallyopposite thereto an arm 5 with nozzle 6. The axes of the arms andnozzles are directed upwards and include with that of the pipeconnection 1 angles of substantially In the saddle between the arms atubular bearing 7 is provided wherein an axle 8 is journalled, securedagainst longitudinal displacements relative to the bearing 7 at the rearend by a cotter pin 9, and at the front end by a nut 10 which also fixesto the axle a lever 11. The lever carries at either end a baifie. Thehead baffie is so designed that when the lever assumes a position inwhich the head bafile is located in front of the nozzle 4, the jetprojected by that nozzle passes beneath a bridge member 12 through aclearance 13 and impinges on an inclined bafile plate 14 so designedthat the jet is deflected anticlockwise (as considered in the plan viewof Fig. 2), and a reaction impulse is imparted on the lever in clockwisedirection. At the same time the lever is given a downwards momentum bywhich it is swung into the position shown in dashed lines in Fig. 1.This brings the tail bafile in front of the nozzle 6. The tail nozzleincludes a bridge member 15 and a clearance 16 similarly as the headnozzle, and a baffle plate 17 which is so devised that the jet emergingfrom nozzle 6 imparts to the tail end of the lever a downward momentumwithout lateral component. An abutment including a tapped ear 18 securedto the arm 3 and a screw 19 screwed into the ear, limits the upwardmovement of the head part of the lever. The operation of the sprinkleris as follows:

At the start, one of the two arms of the lever is shifted in front ofthe corresponding nozzle. If the lever is fully balanced it may happenthat at the start, neither batfie is in front of the correspondingnozzle. The concussions caused by starting the flow of the water will.however, set the lever oscillating, and soon one of the baffles will bestruck by one of the jets, when norma operation of the sprinkler begins.However, one of the arms, say the tail arm, may be slightly weighted sothat in the position of rest the lever assumes automatically theposition shown in full lines in Fig. 1. Such overweight or bias weightwould be so small as not substantially to prejudice the independence ofthe lever from the water pressure. Assuming the starting position to bethat shown in full lines in Fig. l, the jet emerging from the nozzle 4now strikes the bafile plate 14 and swings the head end of the leverdown. At the same time the jet is deflected anti-clockwise and therebyexerts a reaction on the lever so that the nozzle unit is shiftedclockwise about its vertical axis over a short angular distance. Whenthe lever has reached the position shown in dashed lines the tail bafliehas assumed its operative position in front of the nozzle 6. The jetemerging from the latter then strikes the baffle plate 17 and swings thetail end of the lever down, thereby bringing the head baffle in front ofthe nozzle 4. As no lateral momentum is exerted on the tail baffle, thenozzle unit is not shifted angularly during this movement. However, thetail baflie may be devised similarly as the head bafile so that the tailend of the lever is given a downward and lateral momentum, and a furtherangular step is carried out by the nozzle unit when the tail end of thelever swings down.

The adjustable abutment 18, 19 admits variations of the amplitude of thelever movement within certain relatively narrow limits.

The biassing of the lever may be effected by a weak spring instead of byweight.

The invention is not confined to the case in which the lever oscillatesabout a horizontal axis, for the same principle of throwing the leverback into operative posie tion by the impact of a second jet on a tailbaflie may be carried into effect with an inclined or even a verticaloscillating axis.

In addition to the advantages stated above the sprinkler according tothe invention has the further advantage that the second nozzle, whichcooperates with the tail bafiie, may be an ordinary nozzle of the samesimple design as the first nozzle which cooperates with the head baffie,as the bafiie acts in both cases as a means for disintegrating the jetinto a spray. In hitherto known sprinklers of the kind referred to, thesecond nozzle, which does not cooperate with a baffle, has to be of aspecial design calculated to disintegrate the jet, and this not onlymakes the manufacture more costly but causes frequent interruptions ofthe irrigation owing to clogging.

I claim:

1. In a sprinkler in combination: a nozzle unit including at least twojet-producing nozzles and being rotatable about a substantially verticalaxis; a lever oscillatable about a fulcrum located in a zoneintermediate its ends, and having a baffle at either end, means limitingthe amplitude of oscillation of the lever so that at one limit of itsoscillation one of the baffles is located within the jet range of one ofthe nozzles, and at the other limit of its oscillation the other bafileis located within the jet range of the other of said nozzles; each ofsaid baffles being arranged to impart a swinging movement to the leverupon impingement on that baffle of the jet of the corresponding nozzle,and at least one of the baffles being shaped laterally to deflect thejet for producing by reaction a shifting of the nozzle unit about itsaxis.

2. A sprinkler as claim as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nozzle unitconsists of two nozzles disposed in diagrammatically oppositedirections.

3. A sprinkler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nozzles are upwardlyinclined.

4. A sprinkler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of oscillation ofthe lever is horizontal.

5. In a sprinkler in combination: a nozzle unit including two upwardlyinclined nozzles disposed in diametrically opposite directions androtatable about a substantially vertical axis; a lever oscillatableabout a substantially horizontal axis located intermediate its ends, andhaving a baffle at either end, means limiting the amplitude ofoscillation of the lever so that at one limit or its oscillation one ofthe bafiles is located within the jet range of one of the nozzles, andat the other limit of its oscillation the other battle is located withinthe jet range of the other of said nozzles; each of said baflles beingarranged to impart a swinging movement to the lever upon impingement onthat bafile of the jet of the corresponding nozzle, and one of thebaflles being shaped laterally to deflect the jet for producing byreaction a shifting of the nozzle unit about its axis.

6. A sprinkler as claimed in claim 1, including means for biassing thelever for normally keeping one of the baffles within jet range of thecorresponding nozzle.

7. A sprinkler as claimed in claim 5, wherein one side of the lever isslightly overweighted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,730,623 Orr Oct. 8, 1929 2,380,101 Englehart July 10, 1945 2,592,609Shoemaker Apr. 15, 1952 2,596,383 Dunham May 13, 1952 2,606,789 RoyerAug. 12, 1952

